Paper Napkin Wisdom - Podcast And Blog For Entrepreneurs, Leaders And Difference-makers

Kris Kaplan is a firm believer that if you’re not having fun at what you do, you shouldn’t be doing it. After a long career on the road as a rep, Kris decided it was time to create an organization of people who shared the same values as him and were wholly focused on a singular vision. He is now a coach to entrepreneurs, business leaders, and other high-performing individuals, providing them with tools needed to simply execute. It is that focus on execution that inspired his contribution to Paper Napkin Wisdom: “Giddy Up and Make It Happen.”   Kris’ personal mantra of making it happen originated from taking his own thirst for learning and turning it into action - step on the gas and go for it. Within his own business, he found himself in a learning mode, protecting what was his during the post-recession free fall. Dealing with that kind of negativity in his business - a focus on saving what was left - made the business gun-shy about being as forward/active as possible. It also drove Kris toward developing a p

 Hybrid thinking has defined Matt Curry's career as an entrepreneur. His professional career started out changing tires and eventually working his way into a management role, but his entrepreneurial career flourished after he launched his first auto shop in 1997 and ultimately grew it into one of the largest auto repair chains in the Washington, DC metro area. Having embraced the evolution of the auto industry by educating his line of business in the art of hybrid and electric car repair, Matt has also embraced the evolution of employee engagement through his contribution to Paper Napkin Wisdom: "You can't rule your world by email." Whether your business is a brick and mortar operation or entirely virtual, Matt's experience has taught him that you still need boots on the ground and, as a leader, you still need to be involved in all aspects of your operation. This is a lesson learned from observing his four original locations, meeting with his key people, and maintaining a “two-minute meeting” strategy for ali

Michael Walsh has built his company, Kaizen Consulting, into something that allows him to explore his own personal freedom. By embracing the methods that he uses when working with other entrepreneurs to help them grow their businesses, he has surpassed his own expectations for what the entrepreneurial life can bring. His Paper Napkin Wisdom was inspired from his work with a particular client who experience a five-fold increase in sales: "Thinking big is not enough." This concept arose when Michael asked himself the following two questions: "What stops businesses from growing?" and "What moves businesses past those things that have stopped them?" The conclusion at which he arrived was simple: vision is exciting and aspirational, in the way that limbic energy is contagious. Vision without structure, however, either creates chaos or will fall flat. Vision is fast and compelling, while structure is slow and stable. (Conversely, structure without vision is like slogging through the mud).  Michael observed that whi

Fran Biderman-Gross calls herself the “Strategista” of Advantages, a New York City-based company that helps companies to get noticed through branding, marketing, and print production management. Her professional background includes more than twenty years’ professional experience in the niche print industry, but when it comes to her Paper Napkin Wisdom, she's all about turning things upside down (or in this case, on their side). If you envision the traditional sales funnel, you see a Y-shaped graphic with all the effort of your business focused on eventually converting hundreds (if not thousands) of leads from the top to one or a handful of customers at the bottom. Tradition says that this is a numbers game - increase the number of leads, you increase the number of prospects, and eventually, you increase your number of customers. Fran's take: tip the funnel on its side (so it looks like a megaphone) and concentrate on what you're projecting out into the world. What you project should be singular and simple; fo

Rich Mulholland has had one of the more an entrepreneurial careers of all the Paper Napkin Wisdom contributors. He started out as a roadie for bands like Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, and Bon Jovi and eventually realized that there was a lack of energy in the industry during the winter months in South Africa. Driven by his entrepreneurial spirit, he took the initiative to adapt the “rock show” model to corporate clients. He started out by dressing up corporate speeches and presentations with pyrotechnics and grand theatrics, but quickly realized that he was solving the wrong problem: he needed to work on the presentations themselves, rather than the theatrics surrounding them. This was a result of the intense hatred that Rich (and really, all of us) had for boring presentations - it is also the motivation for his contribution to Paper Napkin Wisdom: "“We all need to fall in hate with something.” An oft-cited quote from Ghandi says that if you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life. According to Ri

Alan Miltz’s 20+ years of executive background ranges from founding director of Inmatrix Pty Ltd through to most recently, director of Pearl Finance Australia. Alan has extensive experience across all major finance fields, including financial analysis and debt finance boosting, and spends a large amount of time helping entrepreneurs handle their banking relationships, cash flow analysis, and other financial matters. His Paper Napkin Wisdom reflects this level of expertise: “Revenue is vanity. Profit is sanity. Cash is king.” In Alan's experience, most entrepreneurs and CEOs only want to talk about revenue, margins, profit, etc. Profit, as Alan puts it, is an opinion - you can manipulate it to any degree necessary to fit your message. Here's another way of thinking about the relationship between profitability and cash flow: businesses speak Spanish, but banks speak Portuguese. A competent business owner must be fluent in both because banks talk about cash flow as an ability to service your debt.  There are fo

I so often hear about entrepreneurs, leaders, and difference-makers wanting to get more results – scalable results – exponential results. They talk about their hearts being into it, but they are not driving the results they want. The answer is simple, you have to couple passion and process to get crazy results – exponential results. You have to be wildly committed to the goals that you set, and make progress on them every day. You cannot do this without a process that permits you to focus on them, to relentlessly execute on them. If you want a structure to help you do this, I want to give it to you. Please go to www.PaperNapkinWisdom.com and sign up, we’ll send you the e-book that contains the secret structure that will build more scalable, even exponential results than you had thought possible. You have so much to give, you had better start now. Take Action is a short podcast, usually between 3 to 5 minutes long, and the focus is on the small, 1% improvements we can make in our businesses and lives. Small ch

Dr. Heidi Hanna is CEO and founder of SYNERGY, an integrative neuroscience partnership that provides brain-based training for individuals and organizations. Heidi’s publications include the NY Times best seller The SHARP Solution: A Brain-Based Approach for Optimal Performance (Wiley, Feb 2013), and the follow-up release Stressaholic: 5 Steps to Transform Your Relationship With Stress (Wiley, Jan 2014). In addition to those accomplishments, Heidi also attended college on a full scholarship to play softball. As a pitcher, she quickly realized that athletes share a common awareness of the window they possess to perform an optimal level. She also discovered that most high-performing athletics perfected ways to recharge their energy in order to continue performing that those levels. Finally, as with any pitcher, she become intimately familiar with the pitch counts imposed upon her. Throughout these experiences, it became clear that energy is our most important resource. In softball (and baseball), a pitch count i

Warren Rustand has created, led and grown many successful private, public and not-for-profit entities. He is currently the CEO of Providence Service Corp and has a long and distinguished career serving a Chief Executive or in senior-level leadership positions with numerous other organizations. Warren is a frequent speaker on leadership, business, families, and personal development, and contributes to Paper Napkin Wisdom with the following: "One's success in life is relevant only to one's own capacity." In Warren's experience, it is human nature - and certainly the nature of the entrepreneur - to measure one's self against others. On the contrary, true success can only really be defined through our own capability, potential, and skills (those that have been given to us and those we have developed over time). The only success that is relevant, therefore, is that which can be measured against this personal capacity or potential. Supplemental to this idea of personal capacity is the notion that rather than compar

Mark Moses is one of the world's foremost coaches of entrepreneurs. After starting his first business at age 19, he went on to build and sell two firms during his entrepreneurial career and now focuses on helping entrepreneurs increase profitability and accelerate growth. In his Paper Napkin, Mark shares: "If you can't define it, you can't measure it. If you can't measure it, you can't manage it." Whether your goal is business, personal, or other, it must be explicitly defined before you're able to truly achieve it. Ask yourself the following questions: Where do you want to be three years from now? What will it take to guarantee that happens (and how will you measure it)? What stands in the way of making that happen? Now ask those same questions for the next year; for the next quarter. Are the goals related and are they equally measureable? This state of constant definition and perpetual measuring is the most concrete method to managing your objectives. Leave the mentality of "concept" behind and instead embr

Patrick Gentempo is a name familiar to those who regularly check out the blog and podcast.  I recently spoke with Patrick and he shared the Paper Napkin Wisdom, “Philosophy is the most practical tool for achievement!”  Afterwards, Patrick told me … Continue reading → The post No Contradictions Here – Patrick Gentempo (Entrepreneur, Innovator) appeared first on Paper Napkin Wisdom - Blog and Podcast For Entrepreneurs, Leaders, and Difference-Makers.

Patrick Gentempo [link] is the proverbial “man of many hats.”  The biography on his website [link] details many of those hats – from National Karate Champion to soap opera actor to chiropractor to devoted husband and father – but, from … Continue reading → The post The Most Practical Success Tool – Patrick Gentempo (Entrepreneur, Innovator) appeared first on Paper Napkin Wisdom - Blog and Podcast For Entrepreneurs, Leaders, and Difference-Makers.

Mikki Williams is a motivational speaker of twenty-seven years and a nine-time entrepreneur, in addition to being a trainer, consultant, coach, author, multimedia personality, and self-described mensch (Yiddish for “very real human being”).  But listing Mikki’s many labels and accomplishments hardly … Continue reading → The post Be Outrageous! – Mikki Williams (Entrepreneur, Speaker) appeared first on Paper Napkin Wisdom - Blog and Podcast For Entrepreneurs, Leaders, and Difference-Makers.

Deron Quon is Chairman of California Teleservices Inc. and co-founder of menus.com and Datassential, a research company focused on the food industry.  In addition, he is my classmate at MIT’s Entrepreneurial Masters Program. Deron shared with me an interesting three-part Paper … Continue reading → The post Three Steps to Greatness – Deron Quon (Chairman, California Teleservices Inc) appeared first on Paper Napkin Wisdom - Blog and Podcast For Entrepreneurs, Leaders, and Difference-Makers.

Patrick Ellis is the President of Blue Note Wines & Spirits. While he is passionate about wine, he is also passionate about family and, as I learned when I spoke with him, there are similarities in his approaches to business … Continue reading → The post Challenge Builds Character – Patrick Ellis (President, Blue Note Wines) appeared first on Paper Napkin Wisdom - Blog and Podcast For Entrepreneurs, Leaders, and Difference-Makers.

Adam Robinson is the co-founder and CEO of Hireology, which produces a web-based software platform that assists companies in the hiring process from end-to-end. Initially a self-described “accidental entrepreneur,” Adam has since developed an immense passion for entrepreneurship and he … Continue reading → The post Get Out of Their Way! – Adam Robinson (Founder, CEO of Hireology) appeared first on Paper Napkin Wisdom - Blog and Podcast For Entrepreneurs, Leaders, and Difference-Makers.

Dave Sanderson is a name some may recognize. On 15 January 2009, international headlines were made when US Airways Flight 1549 ditched in the Hudson River off Midtown Manhattan. As the last passenger off the back of the plane, Dave … Continue reading → The post Brace For Impact! – Dave Sanderson (Author and Speaker) appeared first on Paper Napkin Wisdom - Blog and Podcast For Entrepreneurs, Leaders, and Difference-Makers.

Sonny Vu is the founder of the award-winning Misfit Wearables, who design highly wearable computing products. In addition, he is the founder and former CEO of AgaMatrix, makers of the world’s first iPhone-connected hardware medical device. Sonny’s Paper Napkin Wisdom … Continue reading → The post Like Your Team – Sonny Vu (CEO & Founder Misfit Wearables) appeared first on Paper Napkin Wisdom - Blog and Podcast For Entrepreneurs, Leaders, and Difference-Makers.

Jill Lublin is a public relations specialist, international speaker, best-selling author, and self-described “messenger of messengers” passionate about helping others to create a footprint in the marketplace. Unsurprisingly, she has created a considerable footprint for herself through seminars, books, and … Continue reading → The post Is Your Business Your Message? – Jill Lublin (Speaker, Author) appeared first on Paper Napkin Wisdom - Blog and Podcast For Entrepreneurs, Leaders, and Difference-Makers.

Kathy Colace is the founder and managing partner of JBN & Associates, LLC, an executive search firm with the motto “Strengthening Companies. Building Careers.” She is also the mother of three adult children (after whom her company is named) and … Continue reading → The post A Gift to Yourself – Kathy Colace (Founder JBN & Associates) appeared first on Paper Napkin Wisdom - Blog and Podcast For Entrepreneurs, Leaders, and Difference-Makers.